Fri Jan 31 07:10:00 UTC 2025: ## Arenas Chooses USC Over Kentucky, Ending Wildcats’ Pursuit

**Lexington, KY** – Alijah Arenas, the highly-ranked son of former NBA star Gilbert Arenas, has committed to the University of Southern California (USC), ending speculation that he would join the Kentucky Wildcats basketball program. The announcement was made unexpectedly during Gilbert Arenas’ podcast on Thursday.

Arenas, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound guard from Chatsworth High School in California, recently reclassified to the 2025 class. He’s a top-ten recruit, ranking as high as 10th overall by On3 and 247 Sports. Kentucky was among his finalists, alongside Louisville, Arizona, and Kansas. However, despite Kentucky’s recent recruiting miss on Caleb Wilson, Arenas never visited Lexington before making his decision.

This leaves Kentucky coach Mark Pope potentially focusing on Nate Ament as their final major high school recruiting target for the 2025 class. The Wildcats are expected to remain active in the transfer portal this offseason.

**(Note: The original text included gambling hotlines. These have been omitted from the news article version as they are not directly related to the news itself.)**

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